The nested painting is now framed in a slightly muted silver leaf frame, which is absolutely beautiful. There is a sense of duality, and a equally balanced comfort in the way the nests settle in towards each other. The mother bird, very soft and enigmatic is hovering in the background. Please drop into the studio to see this painting. It is a lovely companion piece to "Birth" (painted earlier this year... http://gablewip.blogspot.com/2009/04/nest-meets-cosmos-final-prior-to.html)
Work progressed on the two nest painting. The Easter Eggs were painted over, the nest was deepened and simplified. The foreground went from textured fabric to a more abstracted version of sky and straw. The upper background,which had been scrubbed into soft tones in a previously unphotographed painting, shows the bird starting to emerge again.
Progress is crawling on this piece. I seem to have lost interest. My time has been quite fractured lately with short vacation and lots of teaching ... need some time to refill the well. (This was started before the summer). Anyway, I added a bit more background color and some more detail on the wooden eggs in the back nest. Momentum here we come!!
This is a companion nesting piece to the single nest titled "Birth". The top nest has colored wooden eggs nestled inside. I'll paint it in as I see it ... but not sure I like this confusion of color and message. We'll let it go for a while and see what transpires. At the moment I have a suggestion of a crane at the top of the image. I want it to be vague and ethereal. Let's see where that goes, too.
Here is the initial concept and rough sketch in raw sienna on buff toned canvas. It is based on two still life nests that my student brought to me. She was raising birds at the time and these were actual nests that they had built.
This un-named sunflower painting sits eagerly on the easel. There was another small tweak to the inside shape of the flower that will need to yet be posted. It's painted in oils in a bit looser style. Wanting to be more expressive, yet still show form. It's not quite impressionistic, but getting there.
UPDATE: As you see, I've named the piece Sun Seeker. It is framed in a lovely gold and black ornate frame. It has a strong presence and looks lovely hung on the studio wall next to Windows of the Soul.
My mixed media painting, "Entwined", won an award at the Larson Gallery's exhibition last month. It won the Baha'i Faith of Yakima Award for Race Unity. The gallery is located in Yakima, WA. I was very pleased, indeed.
Jordan Steele of local television station, KEPR, stopped at 3 of the artist's studios today to give the public a view of the concept of Open Studio Tour. Actually he had come out a week ago and taped all 3 segments, but it's fun to follow along as though you are traveling with him. My studio at 17 N Auburn in downtown Kennewick was the first stop. I relayed to the public, a bit of history and information about this 6th tour we've put on. The camera lady was able to capture my bird-nest oil painting in process. Check it out!!
Dennis Brunson was the second stop. Jordan was thrilled to see the clay pot come to life as Dennis worked it on the potter's wheel. Jordan admitted he had only seen it done in the movie, "Ghost". Dennis plans to demo this aspect of his process during the tour.
Last stop was Linda Andrew's glass studio. Jordan was enomored with the fact that she creates such beautiful and dynamic glass vessels with tiny strings of glass called "stringers". He also highlighted that Linda is an international artist. How fortunate the Tri-city area is to have such a high caliber artist in it's midst.
Hope you enjoy the video and if you are in our neck of the woods, please come on out to visit the 14 artists in 11 different studios scattered around the Tri-City area. The tour runs this weekend, November 14 and 15 (Saturday and Sunday) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. See you soon!!
The language of this painting speaks from my heart. I love it's ethereal quality and the sense of movement. I recently read that sunflowers and nests have a sense of commonality, in that they represent a mandala motif. Perhaps that is my connection to the two of them. Mandala is a pattern that allows one to go inside to nurture and to recharge. I was striving for a way to combine a realistic subject matter in a semi abstracted manner. Tell me what you think.
Not an idle moment in the studio. One afternoon, a simple white sketch on black paper was transformed into full color using colored pencils. This delightful creation was the result.
I had a wonderful opportunity a few months back to paint with my friend, Kasia, and try out her new Vasari paints. This fun colorful abstract was the result of that meeting. Shortly thereafter, I ordered a set of these luscious hand-made paints out of New York. I am in love with their buttery quality, saturation and open time. Very nice addition to my pallette.
Advertising our first official artwalk of the summer, the nesting painting was used in the promotional materials. (Ad created by Sarah Nelson Design ... my neighbors). First Thursday Artwalk is held the first Thursday evening of every month from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. I plan to be open for each of these events.
This video was created by Dan McCool of idrinkyourwine.com. He has developed a creative marketing venture where he comes to your location to discuss the subject of your choice. At the closing of the "discussion," a glass of wine is shared. Living in a area rich with vineyards, this seems like a good fit. Here we focused on the start-up of my new Laura Gable Studio space ... where I am offering painting lessons, and a showcase of my art. Stop by when you are in the neighborhood (17 N Auburn - Kennewick WA 99336).
Oh and the pertinence of placing this video on my WIP blog, is that you get to see me working on this nesting piece in it's earliest stages. Also see me trying to talk in a lucid fashion while painting.... a challenge, indeed.
Yes it's nearing completion..removed the swirl in the upper right--it was competing with the nest shape...tweaked the lower left corner to feels more grounded and organic. May need to break up the large expanse of middle value on the right side with more light values.
Earlier progress wasn't recorded on this one ... sorry. Let's call this starting point (even though I'm almost finished with it). It's the third painting in my nesting series. Painted in oils with a semi-ethereal presence ... I like the progress.
The nested painting is now framed in a slightly muted silver leaf frame, which is absolutely beautiful. There is a sense of duality, and a equally balanced comfort in the way the nests settle in towards each other. The mother bird, very soft and enigmatic is hovering in the background. Please drop into the studio to see this painting. It is a lovely companion piece to "Birth" (painted earlier this year... http://gablewip.blogspot.com/2009/04/nest-meets-cosmos-final-prior-to.html)
